Me and Lydia had a wonderful day at the Bristol harbour festival, enjoying a brief respite from the terrible weather. For her the highlight of the day was taping her own BBC broadcast at the BBC On Tour Marquay. I was dead proud of the way she handled both the technology and the language.

I can't remember the last day it didn't rain. Now the South West is facing some of the worst flooding in living memory. One of the greatest ironies is that many of the communities cut off by rising flood water have had their water supply cut off!! Click here to read more.

Today me and Lydia decided to go the beach. Yes, following Paris's fine example, Bristol has decided to create its own urban beach near the old harbour. Though, considering the fact that much of Britain has received a month's worth of rain in less than a day it may be, as with second marriages, the triumph of hope over experience.

One of the greatest street photographers has to be Garry Winogrand and I was lucky enough to come across a documentary about him at 2point8 (you've just got to love the internet for allowing us acdess to such material). In it he says;

"What I found out, over photographing a long time - the more I do, the more I do. When you’re younger, you can only conceive of trying a limited amount of things to work with. The more I work, the more subject matter I can begin to try to deal with. ____. The nature of the photographic process - it is about failure. Most everything I do doesn’t quite make it. The failures can be intelligent ____; nothing ventured nothing gained, I mean. Hopefully you’re risking failing every time you make a frame."

This just about sums up my philosophy as far as learning more about photography is concerned. Also his idea that learning is about failure resonates, especially when it come to learning a foreign language. We will fail, we will get it wrong most of the time, at least in the beginning but given the right environment we use this to get better. You go out, try your best, get it wrong and then turn up again the next day and at some point it all just flows.

It's great being able to spend mote time with my daugher and do all the regular family stuff like have a picnic and go to the zoo. We even managed to enjoy a whole day of sunshine. No mean feat considering how much it has been raining in Bristol over tha last month or so.

Yesterday I had the chance to go to the Ashton Court festival and see lots of bands, comdiens, even poets performing. For once the sun stayed out and there was a really great atmosphere. For more photos click here.

I quickly took this before the secuity guards decided I was up to no good and called the police. After the recent attacks in Glasgow and London the authorities seem to be hyper sensitive about people photographing public spaces.